Independence Day of Ukraine 2022 in Belfast.August 24 was a special day for us. On the one hand, this is a very important holiday for every Ukrainian, and on the other hand, it is 6 months since Russia launched a full-scale war against all Ukrainian people and has already killed thousands of our people. Since 2014, the war had been contained in the Crimea/ Donbas region but has since been expanded to the surrounding areas!
On this day, we had several main tasks:
– to inform the local population about the situation in Ukraine, because the WAR IS NOT OVER; civilians, CHILDREN are dying every day! Unfortunately, Ukraine is being reported less and less in the news now, although nothing has neither ended not improved!
– to show a little bit of our culture – we had our souvenirs with us, we were nicely dressed in our traditional costumes and decorated the photo zone in Ukrainian style so that everyone could have a nice photo as a memory.
– so that the Ukrainian refugees could meet and get to know each other;
– we continued to collect funds for urgent humanitarian needs in Ukraine, specifically, for the purchase of 10 off-road vehicles (including ambulances):
• to drive on damaged roads;
• to evacuate civilians and the wounded;
• to provide necessary services, food and water.
All together, we raised £1240 on this day for which we are very grateful.
We remind you that we have already held several fund-raising events and in total we have already collected £6105. With these funds, we have already bought 1 vehicle, which is currently undergoing technical maintenance and will soon be ready for shipment to Ukraine. We spent £1010 on this vehicle.
Thank you all for your contributions to our future victory!
We are very grateful to everyone who came and supported us and our Ukraine, we are grateful to the local residents who approached us and were interested in Ukraine and what is actually happening there. We met and got to know many Ukrainian refugees, for whom it was also important to see that they are not alone here, and they felt this support. We are grateful to all the organizers and to everyone who helped us to hold this event.
Special thanks to:
– Administration of Belfast City Hall (City Hall Functions), for permissions and advice;
– The Police, who gave permission so that we could collect funds for off-road vehicles and ambulances;
– The Jethro Centre , for the speaker and microphone, and also for the huge support we received over these 6 months;
– Enforcement Section Cleansing Services, for permission to distribute leaflets;
– Kingspan Water & Energy – Kingspan’s Divisional HR directors Gary Ferris and Gerry McDermott, who donated 16 laptops for refugees, which were handed over to their new owners;
– Minister of State for Northern Ireland Conor Burns MP for Bournemouth West, for taking the time to come to support Ukrainians in Northern Ireland;
– To our volunteers who helped us during the day.
– To our talented photographers Alisa Lymanska and Балай Богданна
Thanks a million to Northern Ireland and its people for your concern and great support!
Thank you all!
